Herald - lantern - Dispatch 9 July '86 75

SS Earnings Test For Self-Employed

By DEL BROOKS Social Security Manager in Wildwood Although the annual earnings test is in general the same for self-employed people as for wage earners, there are some differences. It's important for people who receive earnings from self-employment to be . aware of the differences. The regular annual earnings test places an annual earnings limit on the amount of money a person can earn without affecting benefits. In 1985, the limit was $7,320 for people 65-70, and $5,400 for people under 65; in 1986 it is $7,800 for people 65-70 and $5,760 for people under 65. BENEFITS ARE reduced $1 for each $2 earned over the limit. The earnings test does not apply to people who are 70 or older throughout the year.

During the first year of retirement, wage earners can get a full benefit for any month they don't earn over 1/12 of the annual limit, regardless of their total earnings for the year. However, for selfemployed people the rule is different. SELF-EMPLOYED people can get a full benefit for any month they don't perform substantial services in self-employement regardless of their total earnings for the year. Whether or not services performed in a business are "substantial" depends on a number of factors. They include the amount of time devoted to the business or profession, including time spent planning and managing, the kind of work done, and how the work compares with what the person previously did. THE MORE valuable and highly skilled the work

performed, or the larger the business, the more likely it is to be considered substantial. In general, more than 45 hours of work devoted to business during a month constitutes substantial service. Less than 15 hours a month is never considered substantial services. Another rule is that any income a retired selfemployed person receives after the year benefits start that is not based on services performed after en-

titlement to Social Security benefits may be subtracted from gross earnings for purposes of the earnings test. This rule applies only to self-employemnt income received in a year after the first year of entitlement to Social Security benefits. This is the year a person applies for benefits and meets all conditions of eligibility, whether or not he or she actually stops working.

Picking Your Own Fruits, Veggies

The 1986 edition of "Where to Find "Pick Your Own' Fruits and Vegetables in New Jersey," the popular guide

prepared each year by experts on the faculty of Rutgers University, is now available from Larry Newbold. Cape May County Agricultural Agent I <465-51 15 >. Fruits, vegetables and I ornamental plants that 5 customers can pick | themselves right on the I farm are included in the list of 164 growers in 16 ■ counties that make up the ■ guide. It was compiled by I Morris S. Fabian and ■ Frederick A. Perkins, extension specialists in ■ marketing at the State ■ University of New Jersey's Cook College. I THE PUBLICATION provides names, addresses ■ and telephone numbers for participating farms, as I well as early, peak and late 5 harvest dates for nearly a | dozen types of fruits and I berries and more than 20 vegetables, some of which ■ are already ripe for the ■ picking I Tips on arranging a visit I are also included in the publication, which was ■prepared in cooperation with the New Jersey I Farmers' Direct ■ Marketing Association and I the State Department of ■ Agriculture's "Jersey Fresh" program I Those who still have copies of the guide from I previous years are urged to 5 get new ones, since some | farm operations have been ■ discontinued and others added | SOME CHANGES have I also been made over the years in telephone I numbers and in the specific products available at parI ticipating locations I Only 33 farms in seven counties were listed when I the publication was first compiled 13 years ago I Copies of "Where to Find ! Pick Your Own' Fruits and | Vegetables in New Jersey" I are free of charge Simply send a stamped, i I self-addressed business I envelope to your Cape May i I County office of the < ■ Cooperative Extension Ser- i | vice, listed under county >. | government heading in the i ™ white pages of most New ( Jersey phone books i

iiiSmrxTdri j ll *r aiiii - til spattd OFF J |CLASSIFIEDorderforM\ | ■ Coupons Good Only On Ads Paid In Advance- \S I One Coupon Per Ad. (Regular $3.50 For First 20 Words.) CATFGORV: j I < 2 3 4 5 I 6 7 : 8 9 10 I i ■ " 12 13 14 IS | | I S 16 17 18 19 20 | ADD 10' FOR EACH ADDITIONAL WORD AFTER 20 I 21 22 23 24 25 j I 26. 27 28 29 30^i__ I i j | 31 32 33 34 35_ I | 1 total amount enclosed: $ NAME | ADDRESS | ■ CITY/ZIP : PHONE | !^v 1 *call us at 465-5055 and | |ONLr\ ask about an additional | i $3.00 savincs for 4 weeks or more! j I^^FI^^X. <"'< « PAYABlf I,,: I I WORDS — EACH THE SEAWAVE CORPORATION | ! ADDITIONAL WORD P.O. BOX 430. ■ lOVE^tnS CAPE MAY CT- HSE" N-'- 0821°jj

H Q. What is the open enrollemnt period for Medicare medical insurance? How will it affect me? A. When you become eligible for Medicare, you're given the option of signing up for the medical insurance part of Medicare. If you decide not to sign up and then later change your mind, you can do so during an open enrollment period. Every year there's an enrollment period from January through March. Protection starts the following July, and the monthly premium will be 10 percent higher than the basic premium for each 12-month period you could have been enrolled but were not. Q. MY FATHER has trouble getting around. Will Medicare pay for a wheelchair for him? A. Medicare medical insurance can help pay for durable medical equipment, such as a wheelchair, only if it is prescribed for use in a person's private home. If your father lives in a nursing home, for example. Medicare cannot help pay for the wheelchair. Q. I've heard that my SSI payments are subject to redetermination. What exactly does that mean? A. The law requires that each person's ca3e be reviewed periodically to be sure that he or she is still eligible for SSI and that the payment amount is correct. This review is called a redetermination. It may be carried out by mail, telephone, or personal interview In general, you will be asked to provide the same kind of information you gave at the time of your application. WHAT KIND of dental coverage does Medicare provide? A. Medicare medical insurance can help pay for dental care only if it involves surgery of the jaw and related structures: or setting fractures of the jaw or facial bone: or other services that would lie covered if they were provided by a doctor. Medicare can also cover a hospital stay required by the severity of a dental pro cedure, even if the pro cedure itself is not covered In general. Medicare does not cover care given in con nection with the treatment, tilling, removal, or replacement of teeth, root canal therapy: surgery for impacted teeth: and other surgical procedures involvthe teeth or structures djrectly supporting the teeth

Bill Seeks $50 Help To Seniors TRENTON — A program to provide financial assistance to senior citizens and the disabled to help them pay for water and sewer services won release June 12 from the Assembly Senior Citizens Committee The bill. A-398. would appropriate $5 million from the Casino Revenue Fund to establish the program "Persons who qualify for assistance under the state's pharmaceutical assistance program for the elderly or who are receiving benefits under the Supplementary Security Income or Social Security programs would qualify for the assistance." Chinnici said. PARTICIPANTS in the program would receive an annual allocation of $50 to pay for water and sewer costs. "We have included a provision within the bill that would direct water and sewer companies to inform eligible residential customers of the service," he said. "So often people are in need of assistance but are denied aid because they are simply not aware of the help that is available." The. progam would be established in the Department of Human Services. Chinnici's measure would call on the department to submit a report annually to the Legislature and the governor of the effectiveness of the program The bill won committee approval by a vote of 5-1. BEAUTIFUL IN YOUR BACKYARD THIS SUMMER. A FRESH AIR FRIENDSHIP B." <!"-.« TfVkfi M V.I Arvl >tr Iyvo A'itw> ,<»u» Uu? F'ljtfi A» I una t»-.-r ty n tn <■••'•<1. >i»«n -ifcvns At tlM" i v. r •• ..•Hi It* 'fw.'H q»ais V EJ- Ht • . i' t .Y« t>f «i-i'i^<rf>W(Hl Open up yout hMft Open up jnui home ["the fresh air fund' ' ' ' I lauoMpr I i I , • ; ... , I • Vw. I | nam. i i addhiss | T \> I -4

l1=i==tl" -v. I «CAPE*^M AY CODNTV > ^ *ralii For More Information

easy as ... |i 2 |, cape may — •*** tf a • VAeea/ ^ . .

h— a— h Vower Township LANTERN Call 465-5055